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Sorry for the incredibly long wait, everyone. I hope that this chapter makes up for, at least, most of it. (:

Insivible

Alliances are Formed

After making a run for Konoha, Sakumo began to re-think his battle with Madara Uchiha, the eldest of the Uchiha. While retracing his steps in the fight, the white-haired shinobi was in complete denial; how could Madara still be alive? He had been around during Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage, was still alive. It was believed by all that he had all but perished in a titanic battle at the Valley of the End. This was critical news for the Hokage, and Sakumo was sure that he would be the one to bring it to Minato’s attention.

While he made his way through the dense woodland the two fighters had had their battle in, the Hatake clansman noticed a shadow out of the corner of his eye; he was being followed! Quickly turning the entirety of his body, Sakumo launched a bolt of lightning at the spy, hoping it would be the last of his chakra he’d need for this. As the surge of electricity made contact with the unknown figure, they screamed out in a rack of pain as they fell to the ground.

Making his way towards the shinobi, Sakumo demanded, “Who are you, and why are you following me?” as he pointed his trust sabre at them, the blade glowing a faint white.

Putting their hands in the air as if they had been caught by the police, the unidentified person removed their mask, revealing long, flowing azure-coloured hair. While she combed through it with her fingers, she said, “My name is Hisshi Toriko, and I was sent by the daimyo of the Land of Earth to capture you.”

Lowering his tanto-like weapon ever so slightly, the white-haired shinobi’s face revealed nothing. “What does the Land of Earth want with me?” he asked, the sabre still flowing with his signature white chakra. As he spoke, he contemplated killing the woman; since she was sent to round him up, and possibly torture and kill him for information on the Land of Fire, as that’s all any country did nowadays.

“He told me nothing,” the woman spoke, the tone in her voice making it impossible to read if she was lying or being truthful.

“How can I trust that statement?” Sakumo replied, the trustless shinobi that he was.

Unzipping her flak jacket, Hisshi revealed a rather large pair of breasts, a size of Lady Tsunade’s caliber. As she seductively undressed, she continued to speak to Sakumo. “Well, I can make it worth your while…” she promised, the foolish person that she was.

Immediately after noticing this, the Hatake man pushed the woman back, a look of disgust plastered to his face. “Don’t you dare try and sway me with your body. A real shinobi would never fall for such a devilish trick!” he spat at her, his face still showing a grimace. This was the most disgusting thing a woman could bring herself to do, and she was acting like her body was nothing but a tool to be used by men…

Letting out a large sigh, Hisshi began to recover the articles of clothing she had discarded: her flak jacket, over-shirt and undershirt and, last but not least, her sandals. “I’m sorry! It’s all I ever get from men that live the life of a ninja! So, I’m sorry if I don’t know how else to gain a man’s trust!” she yelled, the beginnings of a tear forming at the base of her large, goldenrod eyes.

“Was she actually crying?” Sakumo asked himself before placing his hand on the azure-haired woman before him. “Now, now… Hisshi, wasn’t it? Not all men are like that, and I’m living proof of that.” he remarked, a slight smile on his face.

Wiping the tears that had already fallen, Hisshi began to form her own smile. Very few, if any, men in all her life had ever treated her in such a kindly manner. Thanking Sakumo, she started to speak, but couldn’t find the right words to say. Standing there, mouth gapped open, Hisshi hoped her former enemy didn’t find her to be dumb as well as emotional.

As the woman before him stood there, awkwardly, the white-haired man let a very noticeable chuckle escape his mind, at which he instantly apologized. Rubbing the back of his head as most do when embarrassed, Sakumo said, “Sorry ’bout that; just couldn’t help myself. Anyways, let’s start over: hi, I’m Sakumo Hatake; and you are?” his arm outstretched.

Letting her own laugh out, the azure-haired woman put out her hand, shaking Sakumo’s as she spoke. “I’m Hisshi Toriko. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” the Hatake man replied.

Not knowing what else to say, Hisshi let go of the white-haired man before her’s hand and sat herself down in the grass. “So, I know we only just ‘officially’ met, but I was wondering if perhaps I could join you in Konoha. I honestly hate Iwagakure, and I’d love to be an ally to you. What do ya say?” she asked, a distinct tone of hope in the beautiful woman’s voice.

After giving the subject a moment’s thought, Sakumo silently shook his head, the universal body language used for “yes.”

Completely overjoyed, the azure-haired woman jumped up in the air with glee, the largest smile ever seen plastered across her face. “Oh, thank you, thank you! I promise you won’t regret that decision!” she yelled, unable to contain her excitement. After hearing the Konoha shinobi’s answer, Hisshi grabbed the man by his wrist and began to run at full speed, causing the legendary man to yell, “Slow down there; Konoha will still be there when we get ba–” but his sentence was stopped short by the screams of an infant nearby. Looking at each other for a few seconds, at most, the duo changed direction and follow the sounds of the baby.

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Meanings

Hisshi Toriko: Hisshi Toriko is the Japanese translation of “frantic prisoner.”

Sakumo, moving from treetop to treetop, silently looked back and forth, making sure the missing-nin was still in the area. As he scanned the immediate area, he heard a sharp noise. With the keen senses he possessed, Sakumo rushed towards the source of what sounded like metal clashing with metal. Was someone else looking for this man? Who was this man?

After making his way to a small clearing, he spotted the man he had previously fought with. He quickly grabbed his Sabre, causing the man to look his way.

“So, you just don’t give up, do you? Well, it’s your funeral.” the mysterious adversary spoke. In seconds, the man was behind Sakumo, kunai in hand. “Give up now, and you might get out of here alive.”

Breathing a large sigh, Sakumo swiftly swung his blade back, hoping to stab his attacker.

Prepared, the missing-nin quickly jumped back, as well as sending a flurry of shuriken Sakumo’s way. As Sakumo evaded the dozens of throwing stars, he noticed that they had been covered in explosive tags. Damn! he thought as the man detonated the strips of paper. With too many to evade, Sakumo was sent flying into a nearby tree. Without any hint of pain, Sakumo leaped towards his enemy, causing the missing-nin to flinch. Without any thought, Sakumo made several hand seals and yelled “Earth Release: Boulder Blizzard,” sending a large boulder into the air. Sakumo jumped up, sending a punch through the giant rock. The force of the rock caused the boulder to break into thousands of pieces; all of which aimed towards the mystery shinobi. On instinct, the missing-nin drew in a large breath and sent a wave of flames towards the shower of stones. The missing-nin then rushed Sakumo, coming in for the killer.

“I’m not in the mood for games, Uchiha.” Sakumo said with a sinister tone; stabbing his Sabre into the missing-nin’s chest. “You can’t fool me with the same technique twice.” he continued, just as the Uchiha was enveloped in a puff of smoke. From a nearby tree, the man looks upon Sakumo, a Sharingan forming in his right eye.

The Uchiha quietly jumped down from the tree limb he’d been standing on. “Hmph, so you finally figured it out? I guess I must give you some credit, no one in thirty years has caused me to activate my Sharingan.”

“Thirty years?” Sakumo asked. This man looked no older than twenty.

“Yes, thirty years.” the Uchiha whispered into Sakumo’s ear; having appeared next to him. “Now, let’s really fight.” he said, just as he punched Sakumo in the gut, sending him into the air.

With a sharp pain, Sakumo attempts to kick his adversary, but for his leg to… phase through him?! How was this possible?! But there was no time to think. Before he could even begin to come up with an explanation, the Uchiha clansman had made three hand seals and sent multiple flaming missiles towards him. Thinking on his feet, he ran towards the thicker region of the forest. Because of how thick the trees and brush were, he narrowly dodged the flames. As he ran, the missing-nin appeared in front of him, smiling a crooked smile. Sakumo continued to ran towards the enemy, weaving several hand seals as he ran. After the seals had been completed, Sakumo grabbed his Sabre and slashed at the unnamed Uchiha. Just as Sakumo had suspected, the blade had phased through him, much like his foot. Okay, now for part two of my plan… he thought as his hand became covered in electricity. He quickly thrust his palm into the man’s shoulder, causing the man to scream out in pain. It had worked!

Both men jumped back, hoping to get as much distance as possible. They stood there, silent. After several moment, which, to Sakumo, had felt like several hours, the Uchiha was the first to speak. “So, it appears you’ve found out my weakness. However, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve!” he said as a large gunbai appeared in front of him. He then made a hand seal and yelled, “Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!” Immediately after the flame had reached the air, he swung his gunbai, causing the fireball to drastically increase in size. As the great flame made it’s way towards Sakumo, it overtook the trees, causing them to burn to a crisp. With nothing else coming to mind, Sakumo weaved a seal and created an equally large fireball to combat his adversary’s.

The two balls of flames clashed, causing them to reach a stalemate. This is not good. If I run out of chakra, I’ll be dead for sure… Sakumo thought as he continued to feed chakra into his jutsu. As he did so, his fireball slowly began to overwhelm his opponent’s. However, the Uchiha activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and yelled, “Amaterasu!” Immediately, the godly flames overcame Sakumo’s own flames, causing Sakumo to dash to the side.

“What are you?” Sakumo asked, a mix of curiosity and terror beginning to set in his mind.

Sakumo began to glare at his opponent. “You believe that you can defeat me that easily?” he asked, a hint of cockiness in his voice.

“If I hadn’t, I would never had told you my identity.” Without another word, Madara’s left eye began to change. As Sakumo continued to glare, his glare quickly became an expression of pure horror. Madara’s left eye had morphed into the Rinnegan, the “Samsara Eye”…

Sakumo, knowing he’d never be able to take on the Rinnegan in this condition, fled for Konoha.

“Heh, I think I’ll play with him while I still have business in Konoha.” Madara snickered as he phased into the unknown.

Hai, everyone! It’s BlackCherry (formerly Noneatencookie) here. I’m back for another “Naruto in the Year!” Since this is the second year, I will be adding and subtracting some categories. Now, the same rules apply as last year:

No character bashing. (I’m lookin’ at you, Sakura-haters)

You may only make nominations for things that happened in 2010. Anything from 2009 or that may appear in 2011 will not be looked over.

Now, I will set the parameters. In the manga, Naruto started in the middle of the Danzou v. Sasuke fight (Chapter 478) and is close to the beginning of the Fourth Great Shinobi World War (Chapter 522). Since this is the last full week of December, I shall place Chapter 522 in the mix. Now, let’s get onto the categories!

Most Useless Character: Choose the character that you feel has wasted the limited panels Kishimoto has drawn.

Most Grown Character: The character that has shown the most growth. However, Naruto will be left out, due to his mastery of the Nine-Tails.

Most Important Moment: This category is for whatever moment you feel was extremely important to the plotline of Naruto.

Most “WTF?!” Moment: What moment made you go, “WTF?!”

Favourite Revived Character: Which character is your favourite out of the characters Kabuto revived with Edo Tensei?

Most Epic Fight: Which fight just made your blood boil with excitement?

Favourite Chapter: Which chapter did you find most epic?

Now that we have manga out of the way, let’s start the anime portion. The anime this year started with Episode 142 (Battle of Unraikyo) and will end with Episode 192 (Neji Chronicles). Sadly, many of these episodes were filler, which caused many to not watch the anime. With that said, let’s see the categories.

Most “WTF?!” Moment: Same as above.

Most Epic Fight: Same as above.

Most Strange Animation: Was there ever a time when someone just looked funky? (I can remember a particular episode…)

Most Failing Filler arc/episode: Which filler arc/episode just failed miserably?

Favourite Episode: Which episode did you find the most awesome?

Since I don’t have very many categories for anime, I will add another area of Naruto; Movies! However, since only one movie came out this year (Naruto Shippuden 4: The Lost Tower), you may choose from all seven (Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden) of them. For this, I have special categories!

Most Bad*** Antagonist: Which main villain really gave you chills?

Most Interesting Rasengan: Every movie, Naruto invents a new Rasengan. Which was your favourite?

Most Unique/Ununique Plot: Which movie’s plot did you just find most interesting/dull?

Favourite Movie: Which movie did you find amazing? (If any at all)

Well, that’s it. If you have your own categories, please place them in your comments and I shall add them if I like ’em. Remember, you have from now till December 31st to place your nominations! Ciao~

As Sakumo swiftly dashed through the forest, he began to feel another presence nearing. He quickly came to a stop and hid behind a tree. As he waited for any sign of movement or change in the surroundings, his thoughts rushed back to him. Should I have left Itoshii under only Kakashi’s care? Should I have taken this offer? However, these thoughts were meaningless now. He had to concentrate on the mission.

Several minutes passed before Sakumo moved. Suddenly, he heard the snap of a twig. Sakumo instantly became alert. Whoever or whatever this was, it would escape alive. He turned his head very slightly, just enough to get a glance at what was in front of him. As he peered, a figure stepped out in his line of vision.

Sakumo quietly lept to another branch, making no noise. The figure continue to walk, glancing around every now and then. Sakumo continued to follow him, being as silent as possible. After following him for at least a mile, Sakumo grabbed his Sabre and rushed the figure.

The figure quickly turned to face Sakumo, grabbing his own blade and blocking Sakumo’s Sabre. The man gave Sakumo a glare and spoke. “So, you’ve finally come.”

Sakumo, showing absolutely no emotion towards his opponent, Sakumo merely replied with an equally intense glare. He then jumped back, flying back into the trees. He made a few hand seals and a large bolt of lightning shot out towards the missing-nin. The man quickly moved to the side, only slightly evading the lightning bolt. Without any time to react, Sakumo was already next to the man, slashing at him with his Sabre. Once again, his opponent blocked it with his own blade.

“Your attacks are futile. Just leave, or I’ll show you true strength.” the missing-nin said, jumping back. He then made a seal and cupped his mouth. “Fire Release: Dragon Flame Technique!” he yelled, sending a large flame shaped like a dragon in Sakumo’s direction.

Sakumo charged the flame, looking as stern as ever. He quickly made two seals and shot three globs of water into the dragonic flame. It was instantly extinguished, giving Sakumo and opening. Following up on his original battle plan, he bit his thumb and sent it to the ground. In a puff of smoke, a large wolf appeared, snarling at his intended opponent.

“Whadda want?” the wolf said, obviously annoyed at his summons.

“Puredetā, please. I don’t have time to argue. Just go along. If I’m correct, you shouldn’t have to be here for long.” Sakumo replied, his voice very stern. He was use to these types of situations, and knew exactly how to deal with ’em.

As if he was a trained pup, Puredetā quickly ran towards the opponent. He ran to the left, making space for Sakumo. Sakumo followed up with several hand seals, and uttered the name of the technique, Lightning Release: False Darkness. The stream of lightning chakra flew at the missing-nin, making escape extremely difficult.

The missing-nin, thinking on his feet, jumped up, evading serious injury. He then followed up with a slash at Puredetā. Puredetā jumped over the blade, and clawed at the enemy shinobi. While occupying the shinobi, Sakumo once again took out his Sabre, and made a thrust towards his opponent. The blade was sent through the man’s abdomen, coming out the other side.

“I guess you’re not as tough as you thought.” Sakumo said coldly. He then un-summoned Puredetā, who was muttering under his breath. As Sakumo began to pick up the deceased man’s body, it instantly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Quite suprised, Sakumo turned his head back and forth, looking around for any signs of additional people. This ninja was more skilled than Sakumo had anticipated. Without a word, Sakumo leaped into the trees. He’d have to continue looking for this man, no matter what.

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Please note that this is not the end of Sakumo’s battle, just an intermission. Please bare with me until I have Invisible 4 posted. Thank you! ^^